Wheaten terrier? Would you recommend for a family of first-timers?

[WhippetyStourie]

I have 3 DDs in early teens. DH grew up with dogs (always German Shepherds). We currently have a cat. DH & DDs are very keen to have a dog. I thought a terrier breed might suit and the only type I could find available was the wheaten which I hadn’t been aware of before (I was hoping for a border terrier tbh). We are not in the UK. I found this litter available on an online site of registered breeders but I am a bit clueless about how to know if a breeder is trustworthy and what sort of questions I would need to ask about the pups. We have made initial contact and have been invited to visit and see the puppies. Can anyone advise about this breed or suggest a good alternative. I realise I am clueless-should I stick to cats?

I have had a Wheaten and they are amazing dogs, but need a lot of coat care as they don’t shed, so the fur continually grows and easily tangles if it’s not well managed, which is painful for the dog and can lead to health issues.

They are a very fun breed, energetic, with a real zest for life, but it is worth remembering they are still terriers and can be very stubborn. They need a lot of training and socialisation as pups. Mine was an absolute superstar, but she went to two different puppy classes, had extensive training and socialisation when she was young and we did lots of different dog-sports/activities together.

I would be worried about any breeder that has pups available ‘off the shelf’ as it were. Decent breeders vet potential homes rigorously from the first phone-call, operate a waiting list for their pups and only breed when they know they have homes for the whole litter. They will also insist on a contract, often involving breeding restrictions and a requirement that the pup is returned to them if you every need to rehome for some reason. Somewhere that has pups readily available is highly likely to be a puppy farm or backyard breeder.

If you are really interested in a Wheaten I would contact the breed club in whatever country you are in, find out more about them and arrange to meet them in person. This is the UK one.

Really, to choose a breed you should be considering what you can realistically manage to give the dog in terms of training, coat care, exercise etc, then researching breeds that would work well for your family. You could then start approaching breeders or the breed club of the ones you think could work, meet some of the dogs and narrow it down to which feels like the right fit. You would then probably need to go on a a waiting list, which will vary in length dependent on breed. (I waited 18 months for my Wheaten.)

A dog is a 10-15 year commitment, so it’s worth putting in the effort to make sure you get the right dog for your family, which is healthy and has had the best start in life.

An alternative would be to go to your local rescue shelter and have a chat with them. They may be able to suggest dogs in their care that might be a good match for your family.

I personally wouldn’t advise any terrier for a first time dog.

The breeder sounds dodgy, lots of info on that on MN and elsewhere.

A friend (no DC and lots of free time!) has one of these dogs, fun, energetic, but v stubborn.

The soft coated wheaten terrier is on the KC vulnerable native breeds list, so I'm rather surprised that it's the only sort of terrier you could find. Usually it's very hard to source puppies of this breed

In 2020 there were 243 soft coated wheaten, compared to 4587 border terriers.

So I'm afraid my first thought is suspicion - are are these puppies what they say they are? They're usually produced only by breed enthusiasts (often unlicensed because they have fewer litters than meets the registration threshold)

I have a different terrier, which does not have the high maintenance coat issues of a wheaten.

Yes, terriers can be harder to train that other more biddable breeds. You will need to put the work in during the early months and keep it up. How old are the DC? I don't think it's a dog for the u8s at all

I've only met two, one is elderly and a happy plodder. The younger one is much more energetic, and has friendly nature with both people and other dogs.

I’m probably over cautious but I would prefer a more cat friendly dog - terriers have strong prey drive.

Sorry, ignore most of that - I'd managed to overlook that you're not in UK, and the breed is rather more common in eg Ireland

You asked for alternatives, for a family with only one previous owener (and than as family with, rather than main adult owner)

• if you want a terrier, stick to the Border you thought of first, or a Norfolk, Cairns or Norwich (all of the last three are fairly rare though). They tend to have low prey drive for terriers, and can co-habit with cats (particularly if you have a feisty adult cat who will put puppy in its place - I wouldn't recommend introducing a kitten to an adult resident dog, terrier or not).

• otherwise, what led you to like the idea of a terrier? Where you you stand on size, drool, shedding, other traits?

Thank you so much for the replies. I think maybe, this one is not for us.

Wetotter - I like the size of the border terrier, happier to go a bit bigger but don’t want a large dog or too small and yappy/snappy. I really don’t like dog drool, don’t wish to be licked and slobbered on but my kids wouldn’t mind at all. I’d like low shedding but the maintenance of the wheaten, as mentioned by you and a PP sounds too much. I also don’t enjoy being jumped at/on but again my kids love that friendly, enthusiastic greeting stuff.

You should definitely consider a Shih-Tzu - they would tick most of your boxes!

What is it that appeals about a terrier in particular? Is the size or the terrier personality you like the best?

If you're dead set on a terrier, I would maybe look at a breed like Cairn terriers. They're quite rare but lovely little things - they need regular grooming (every 8-12 weeks really) but their coat doesn't knot much so just some brushing in between would be good. They don't shed and there's no drool either! They can be a bit yappy at the door/window but that's the case with all terriers really

TBF, a terrier who grows up from puppyhood with a cat is likely to be fine with the cats it knows.

We had a cat, and got a JRT puppy (our first dog, but we had both grown up with dogs, looked after other peoples' dogs at various times etc). She was a typical arsey prey-driven JRT, but the cat ruled the roost. We then acquired another cat (long story, not planned), and the JRT got used to that cat too - they would share space in front of the fire.